Strium Goes Live
Japan's SBI Holdings, one of the country's largest financial conglomerates, has officially launched Strium in partnership with Startale Group. Strium is a purpose-built layer-1 blockchain designed to support institutional trading of foreign exchange, tokenized equities, and real-world assets. Startale CEO Sota Watanabe confirmed the launch on February 5, 2026, calling tokenization "an inevitable trend" and identifying equities tokenization as "clearly the next big market."
The launch represents the first major milestone since SBI and Startale announced their strategic partnership in August 2025. The two companies have established two specialized joint venture entities: one focused on core technology development and another on brand and business expansion.
Why a Japanese Financial Giant Building a Blockchain Matters
SBI Holdings is not a crypto startup. It is a publicly traded financial services conglomerate with licensed entities across banking, securities, insurance, and asset management. When SBI builds blockchain infrastructure, it comes with the regulatory relationships, institutional credibility, and capital reserves that most crypto projects spend years trying to establish.
The timing is also significant. Tokenized asset platforms have been gaining momentum globally, with Robinhood, Kraken, Bybit, and Gemini all expanding their tokenized stock offerings in recent months. But most of these operate on existing blockchain infrastructure. Strium is different because it is a new layer-1 chain built from the ground up specifically for regulated trading of tokenized securities and RWAs.
The platform targets an $18.9 trillion tokenized asset market opportunity projected by 2033. That number comes from industry projections as traditional financial institutions accelerate their move toward blockchain-based infrastructure, with tokenization widely expected to go mainstream starting in 2026.
How Strium Works
Strium functions as an exchange-layer network with built-in settlement infrastructure. The platform is designed around several core capabilities:
24/7 Trading. Unlike traditional stock markets that close on weekends and holidays, Strium enables continuous access to tokenized stocks and financial assets. This mirrors the always-on nature of crypto markets and addresses a long-standing pain point for institutional traders who face exposure gaps during market closures.
Near-Instant Settlement. Traditional equity settlement operates on T+1 or T+2 cycles, meaning transactions take one to two business days to finalize. Strium aims to compress cross-border transactions to near-instant settlement, reducing counterparty risk and freeing up capital.
Fractional Ownership. High-value stocks that might cost hundreds or thousands of dollars per share become accessible to retail investors through fractional tokenization. A single share of Berkshire Hathaway Class A, for example, could be divided into affordable units.
Composable Products. Tokenized stocks on Strium can potentially integrate with DeFi protocols, enabling use cases like using tokenized equities as collateral for lending or incorporating them into yield strategies.
The technical architecture includes advanced account abstraction to eliminate complex wallet management, institutional custody solutions meeting regulatory standards, frictionless retail onboarding, and real-time compliance monitoring for international regulations.
The Trading Roadmap
Strium's rollout follows a phased approach:
| Phase | What Trades | Requirements |
|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 (Current) | Synthetic US and Japanese stocks, commodities | Proof-of-concept testing |
| Phase 2 | Real tokenized shares, asset-backed tokens | Identity verification, regulatory compliance |
| Open Layer | Separate trading environment | No verification required |
The initial phase focuses on synthetic instruments, which are derivative-style products that track the price of real assets without requiring the underlying asset to be tokenized. This allows Strium to launch faster while regulatory frameworks for full tokenization are finalized.
The proof-of-concept demonstrations currently underway are testing three critical areas: settlement efficiency under real-world conditions, resilience under heavy transaction loads, and interoperability with both legacy financial systems and other blockchain networks. A public testnet is planned as the next step toward commercial deployment.
The Yen Stablecoin Connection
SBI Holdings has also partnered with Startale to launch a yen-denominated stablecoin in Q2 2026. The stablecoin structure involves Shinsei Trust & Banking and SBI VC Trade, positioning it as a fully regulated, purpose-built token for global settlement and institutional adoption.
This yen stablecoin, combined with Startale's existing USDSC (a USD stablecoin), will form what the companies describe as a "complementary currency stack" for the upcoming 24/7 tokenized stock exchange. Having both USD and JPY stablecoins native to the platform means traders can settle in either currency without leaving the Strium ecosystem.
For context, the stablecoin market is currently dominated by USD-pegged tokens like USDT and USDC. A regulated yen stablecoin backed by a major Japanese financial institution would be one of the first credible non-USD stablecoins targeting institutional use. This matters for crypto card users and everyday spenders because stablecoin-funded cards could eventually support JPY settlement alongside USD, reducing conversion costs for Japanese users.
What This Means for Crypto Users
The launch of Strium has several practical implications for the broader crypto ecosystem:
Tokenized stocks become more accessible. If Strium succeeds, retail investors gain 24/7 access to fractional shares of US and Japanese equities through a single blockchain platform. This could integrate with crypto wallets and card platforms that already support on-chain assets, enabling seamless movement between tokenized stocks and spending.
A new yen stablecoin enters the market. For users in Japan and those trading JPY pairs, a regulated yen stablecoin from SBI provides an alternative to relying solely on USD-pegged stablecoins. This could improve FX efficiency for cards with no foreign exchange fees.
Institutional liquidity flows on-chain. When a conglomerate like SBI brings its institutional clients onto a public blockchain, it adds liquidity depth that benefits the entire ecosystem. More institutional volume means tighter spreads and more efficient price discovery across all on-chain assets.
DeFi composability with traditional assets. The ability to use tokenized stocks as collateral in DeFi protocols opens new yield strategies and capital efficiency improvements. Imagine posting tokenized Tesla shares as collateral to borrow stablecoins for card spending.
The Competitive Landscape
Strium enters a market with several established and emerging competitors:
- Securitize operates the tokenization infrastructure behind BlackRock's BUIDL fund, which holds over $700 million in tokenized US Treasuries.
- Ondo Finance offers tokenized Treasury products and has attracted significant institutional interest.
- Backed Finance provides tokenized stock ETFs on Ethereum and other chains.
- INX operates a regulated tokenized securities exchange.
What differentiates Strium is the vertical integration: SBI brings the regulated financial infrastructure, Startale brings the blockchain engineering, and together they control both the exchange layer and the settlement layer. Most competitors rely on third-party blockchains for settlement.
FAQ
What is Strium? Strium is a new layer-1 blockchain built by SBI Holdings and Startale Group specifically for institutional trading of tokenized stocks, foreign exchange, and real-world assets.
When will Strium be available to trade on? The platform is currently in proof-of-concept phase with synthetic trading instruments. A public testnet is next, followed by full commercial deployment. No specific public launch date has been announced.
What is the SBI yen stablecoin? SBI Holdings and Startale are launching a regulated yen-denominated stablecoin in Q2 2026. It will be used for settlement on the Strium platform alongside Startale's USDSC dollar stablecoin.
Can retail investors use Strium? Yes. The platform includes fractional ownership features and an "open layer" that allows participation without full identity verification, alongside a regulated layer requiring KYC for tokenized securities.
Overview
SBI Holdings and Startale Group launching Strium signals that institutional tokenized trading infrastructure is moving from concept to production. A regulated Japanese financial giant building a dedicated layer-1 chain for 24/7 tokenized stock and RWA trading, backed by a native yen stablecoin, validates the thesis that traditional finance is converging with blockchain rails. The $18.9 trillion tokenized asset opportunity is attracting serious institutional capital, and Strium is one of the first purpose-built chains designed to capture it. For crypto users, the downstream effects are clear: more on-chain liquidity, more stablecoin options, and new asset classes accessible through the same wallets and card platforms they already use.
